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L490: Individual Study

Purpose of L490

The Independent Study (L490) course may serve any of a number of functions, including the following:

  • Introductory experience to a research program. Students who wish to become acquainted with professional level research activities frequently develop an arrangement with a faculty member which permits the undergraduate student to participate in various aspects of a faculty member's research program.
  • Intensive inquiry into a field of study. Students desiring more knowledge about a subject area than is covered by formal lecture or laboratory courses may enroll in L490 for the purpose of expanding their knowledge about a discipline or specific topic.
  • Preparation for postgraduate study. Students planning to continue their education beyond the A.B./B.S. level often enroll in L490 to prepare themselves for the rigor and routine of laboratory/field/library research activities which occupy the professional scholar.
  • Fulfillment of Honors Degree requirements. (NOTE: L490 cannot fulfill the Intensive Writing Requirement. A student earning L490 credit in a SPEA lab, CANNOT convert that research to a Biology upper level lab or for the Biology Departmental Honors notation.) L490 research DOES NOT fulfill an upper level lab requirement for the biology degree UNLESS it is earned with the Honors notation.

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Scope of L490 Programs

L490 presents an opportunity for maximum flexibility in project selection. At one extreme, students might collaborate with a faculty member to perform a set of field observations or laboratory based experiments. At the other extreme, students may elect to carry out library research on a specific topic. The scope of an individual L490 program depends entirely on the agreement reached between the student and faculty advisor.

It should be emphasized that a student who desires to enroll in L490 need not have a project idea in mind before approaching a prospective faculty advisor. Frequently, faculty have L490 project ideas which are a part of a major, on-going research program. In some cases, faculty will offer students a choice of potential L490 projects.

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L490 GUIDELINES

  • Overall minimum GPA of 2.5.
  • Regular contact with either the faculty member, postdoc, or advanced graduate student in the advising faculty member's lab who can closely supervise work.
  • Involvement with directed reading or creative research. (Not with dishwashing or other menial tasks.)
  • At the end of each semester, the student is required to submit to the advising faculty member a written report of the work completed.

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To enroll in L490

Talk with prospective faculty advisors and determine with whom you will do Individual Study. Prior to registration for the semester in which you will begin L490, make arrangements with the faculty member concerning the following:

  • Nature of the project.
  • Number of L490 credit hours you will enroll in for the semester.
  • Mechanics for establishing a final letter grade for the course.

Pick up an L490 permission form from the Biology Advising Office, JH A115. Have the form completed by the faculty advisor and return it to the advising office in exchange for an on-line authorization. You must have an L490 section authorization in order to actually register for L490.

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Advantage of L490 Enrollment

By enrolling in L490, students typically have a good opportunity to become acquainted with faculty on a one-to-one basis. Should an L490 student apply for admission to a graduate or professional school, the supervising faculty member will most likely be able to write a highly personal and effective letter of recommendation concerning the student's abilities.

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN L490 AND THE HONORS DEGREE

L490 is designed to provide students with experiences and knowledge which are not normally available through formal courses. The course might be taken only one semester, for a limited number of credit hours (e.g., one or two), in order to accomplish a specific goal. Alternatively, L490 might be considered an integral part of a student's curriculum and be taken each semester for two or three years in order to broaden the normal scope of an undergraduate degree in Biology. Students are permitted to count a total of 12 hours of L490 credits toward an undergraduate degree.

An Honors program provides a more intense, comprehensive, and demanding experience than an L490 course alone normally provides. As a major part of the L490 course, a prospective honors student works on a goal-oriented research program for at least two semesters and a minimum of 6 credit hours total. Writing a research report based upon the results of field observations or laboratory research is the ultimate goal of the L490 efforts.

In contrast to regular L490 work, the Honors Degree L490 project must include either laboratory or field research. L490 projects can be based entirely on library research. However, the Honors Degree project must include laboratory or field research.

In summary, although L490 is an integral part of an Honors program in Biology, the Honors Program encompasses more than the completion of two semesters of L490.

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GUIDELINES FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY HONORS DEGREE

Purpose of the Honors Degree--Several benefits are associated with obtaining the B.A. or B.S. biology degree with Honors, including the following:

  1. Practical experience with research methods is obtained. Typically, honors students have an excellent opportunity to learn first-hand about the manner in which research projects are conceived, executed, and completed. That experience is valuable for virtually all career tracks which build upon a biology undergraduate degree. For example, aspiring research technicians frequently learn marketable skills during the course of performing honors research. Students who continue their education at a graduate school usually have a head start in developing a thesis project, and pre-professional students can use their honors research knowledge to better understand recent advances in medicine, dentistry, education, and other fields.
  2. An occasion to learn scientific writing skills is available. An honors program in biology culminates in the preparation of a thesis. The thesis represents a detailed scientific report on the research project carried out by the student. The thesis usually follows the format of a paper prepared for publication in a scientific journal. Indeed, in several instances biology honors theses have been published in international research journals!
  3. Opportunities to meet and interact with faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are presented to honors students. During the course of the daily routines associated with honors research, students have the chance to interact with professional biologists. Students can gain insight into the attitudes, lifestyle, motivational factors, and career advantages and disadvantages which concern professional biologists.
  4. Formal recognition for participating in a research project is obtained. The undergraduate degree is recorded as B.A. [or B.S.] with Honors. This accomplishment remains as a part of the honors student's permanent undergraduate record.
  5. Financial remuneration is occasionally available. It is sometimes possible for honors students associated with federally funded research projects to earn hourly wages for part of their honors research work.

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Schedule--When to Begin?

Although there is only a two-semester L490 requirement for an Honors Degree (see section on requirements below), it is advisable to begin working toward the Honors Degree as early as possible. In that way the full benefits of the Honors Program can be obtained.

Scope of the Honors Degree

The nature of the research project usually reflects both the specific interest area of the undergraduate student and the focus of the research program of the faculty advisor. Considering the broad scope of the research interests represented in the Department of Biology, a wide variety of honors projects could be undertaken by undergraduates. It is also possible for undergraduate biology majors to conduct honors research with faculty in other departments including medical sciences, chemistry, psychology, etc.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR AN HONORS DEGREE IN BIOLOGY

The following series of questions includes most of the relevant information concerning the requirements:

Which degree may be earned with Honors?

Any of the B.A. and B.S. degrees in the Department of Biology may be earned with Honors.

Who is eligible for a biology degree with Honors?

Any undergraduate major in the Department of Biology may earn a degree with Honors by meeting the requirements explained below. Note that in most cases the work must be started a minimum of two semesters before a degree with Honors is granted. Students are strongly urged to select an advisor and begin work during their junior year or earlier. Some students begin Honors work during their freshman year.

What are the formal requirements for a degree with Honors?

  1. An overall GPA of 3.3 or above.
  2. Completion of all required coursework for the desired degree.
  3. Research work in Biology or in an associated discipline. A student earning L490 credit in a SPEA lab CAN NOT convert that research to a Biology upper level lab or for the Biology Departmental Honors notation. This research may be performed at IUB, at another campus of Indiana University OR at another university PROVIDED THAT all such research is evaluated by a committee which shall include the student's mentor AND AT LEAST two members of the faculty of the biology department at IUB. Ordinarily, this research should encompass two academic semesters, an academic semester and a full summer, or two full summers. The summers should be full time research. Registration in L490 during two summer sessions of a single summer SHALL NOT complete the research requirement for a degree with honors.
  4. Successful defense of an Honors thesis as certified by an appropriate faculty committee (see below).
  5. The Honors Thesis CAN NOT be used for your intensive writing requirement.
  6. If a student is pursuing the Honors notation and plans to use L490 research as an upper level lab, the student must successfully complete the thesis for lab credit.

What are the responsibilities of the faculty committee?

The student must select a faculty member who will agree to direct the work leading toward an Honors thesis. Together the student and faculty member choose two other faculty members who are willing to serve on the committee. At least two committee members must be from the Department of Biology, Bloomington. The members must meet either jointly or individually with the Honors candidate no later than the third week of the candidate's last semester of undergraduate work to approve the scope of the Honors project. Members of the committee must agree to read the final draft of the thesis, administer the thesis defense, and accept or reject the thesis. The candidate bears the primary responsibility for meeting deadlines.

What type of work is suitable for inclusion in an Honors thesis?

In general, the work is a less ambitious version of a Masters thesis. In other words, the student is to perform laboratory or field experiments or to make observations generating new data that are then analyzed. A paper based strictly on library research is not suitable as an Honors thesis in Biology, but can be a legitimate L490 experience.

What is the nature of the thesis?

So far as is appropriate, the thesis should have the form of a paper written for publication. It will typically include a summary, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion, and it should conclude with a list of literature cited.

What is the preferred timing for the various aspects of a student's Honors degree program?

Undergraduates have often underestimated the time required for thesis writing and some have had to abandon their Honors plans as a result. The responsibility for following the timetable outlined below lies squarely with the student.

  1. Students engaged in undergraduate research for the honors notation are reminded that the L490 experience MAY substitute for one of the upper level laboratories required for an undergraduate degree in Biology if the Honors thesis is approved. Several precisely defined steps must be taken before the department will approve such a substitution. A description of the requirements which must be met for such a substitution is available from the Biology Advisors in JH A115. NO SUBSTITUTION OF THIS KIND WILL BE MADE WITHOUT SUCH APPROVAL. Students pursuing a degree with honors can be reasonably sure that such a substitution will be approved upon completion of the written requirements and documentation.
  2. No later than nine months prior to the time the Honors Degree is to be awarded, the potential candidate should have identified a probable thesis director and should have established at least a general topic for the work to be done. Students are encouraged to visit with faculty in areas they find most interesting and can seek advice from Biology Advisors, Biology Honors Chairman, or Chairman and Associate Chairman in Biology to identify appropriate faculty members.
  3. The research should be past the initial reading and discussion stage and into the actual experimental stage early in the semester prior to graduation.
  4. Prior to the last semester, the full committee should be selected and be acquainted with the work being done. This provides the committee with opportunities to make suggestions about the investigations needed to complete the work.
  5. A thesis should be in the hands of the committee at least three weeks before the end of the student's final semester. The version circulated to the committee should have been revised following the reading of a first draft by the thesis director.
  6. At least two weeks prior to the end of the student's last semester, the student must defend his/her thesis before the committee. A general departmental announcement should be made about the defense, and other members of the faculty may attend after notifying the thesis director so that space can be made available. A desirable format is for the student to present an open departmental seminar on his/her work, followed immediately by a defense of the work before the thesis committee.
  7. Mary Ann Miller, a biology advisor, must certify the successful defense of the Honor's thesis to the Recorder's Office a week prior to the end of the semester. Therefore, the student must submit one bound copy of the thesis, signed by all committee members, to her at the Advising Office (JH A115, 855-3810).

Who is responsible for moving the work along and meeting deadlines?

Although the faculty member directing the work may help, the student bears ultimate responsibility for knowing and meeting the deadlines and requirements.

When questions arise about a degree with Honors, where are answers available?

General information about Biology degrees with Honors and assistance in identifying possible faculty sponsors are available from the Biology Advisors, JH A115. Other sources include the Biology Honors advisors listed in the current Bulletin of the College of Arts and Sciences. Questions about exceptions or unusual situations can be directed to Honors Chairman of Biology or Mary Ann Miller in the Undergraduate Advising Office.

Formal application for an Honors Degree

Once an advisor has agreed to sponsor an honors program the student should register with the Department of Biology Honors Committee by contacting Ms. Mary Ann Miller.

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FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND AWARDS

Biology undergraduates are eligible to apply for a variety of scholarships and financial awards. Most of these awards are not limited to biology majors who are engaged in undergraduate research projects. However, undergraduates who have demonstrated a high capacity for independent study will have an advantage when applying for these. A list of available scholarships is prepared each February. Contact the Biology Advising Office for further information.

HHMI CAPSTONE Research Grant
Stipends and supply grants are available through a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Information and applications can be found at http://hhmi.bio.indiana.edu.

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GETTING STARTED

Read and understand the literature. You must show that you understand the relevant primary literature. Work to master your sources. Plan to reread, use a dictionary, and struggle until you have a thorough grasp of all information important to your research question. Use your professor as a source, and ask questions about what you don't understand.

Think before you write, and use writing to think. It's often possible to fool ourselves into thinking we know exactly what we're doing. When forced to put it all down on paper, we see what needs to be clarified and explored further. To help yourself, take the time to answer the following questions IN WRITING:

    1. What exactly do I plan to do?
    2. What do I already know about the problem?
    3. Why do I want to solve this problem, and why should it be solved?
    4. How will I do it? When? Where? Under what conditions? What procedures?
    5. What do I expect to find?

When it comes time to compose, some writers will begin with a detailed outline, others will prefer to just start writing and let the organization evolve through a series of rewrites. If you are an "outliner", don't be afraid to change your plan and let the proposal grow as you write. If you don't normally like outlines, it may still be helpful to use a rough "scratch" outline to guide you at the start.

SOURCES

Axelrod, R.; Cooper, C. 1988. The St. Martin's Guide to Writing, 2nd ed. St. Martin's Press, N.Y.
Biddle, A. W.; Bean, D. J. 1987. Writers Guide: Life Sciences. Health Writing Across The Curriculum Series. D.C. Health, Lexington, Mass.
Heffernan, J.; Lincoln, J. 1990. Writing: A College Handbook, 3rd. Ed. W. W. Norton & Co., N.Y.
Pechenik, Jan A. 1987. A Short Guide To Writing About Biology. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston.

Prepared By: Deede Real